From the Institute for Public Accuracy, a new twist on lobbying. I quote their message, it is a logical next step for those who have seen the doco The Corporation: “Following the recent Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission to allow unlimited corporate funding of federal campaigns, Murray Hill Inc. today […]

Gardening is not a hobby for those seeking ROIs, or rent, or even a full larder. ‘Wouldn’t want to live off what I grow’ is my grateful mantra. Grateful because real farmers grow my food, and a real supermarket puts the cornucopia at my fingertips. Almonds? Any day of the week. Ditto the fruit, veg, […]

Last night we saw Canberra Philharmonic’s production of West Side Story. Maybe the music and the singing weren’t quite Broadway, or even Sydney quality. A young woman behind me was chatting about all the shows she saw while living in London, clearly some passionate performers present. But the heart was there in the production and […]

It’s hard to overestimate the effect of Barack Obama’s win. The photo below was taken on the premises of Jensen Bowers, which is where On Line Opinion subleases its office space, and its context speaks volumes about the reach of Obama. (Sorry about the quality, but my mobile doesn’t have a flash). Jensen Bowers (nice […]

Life is not a simulation game! It is possible to find oneself in a different place, with a whole new set of challenges and adventures. There is no quick éscape´button, I´m here for a while, so I might as well settle in. I´m learning the rules of this new game, even as I learn the […]

We went to visit Pearl Harbour yesterday. Can you imagine doing a guided tour of the War Memorial in Canberra and being instructed to stay silent because this is a solemn place? When you visit the memorial to the Arizona which was the pride of the fleet destroyed at Pearl Harbour, that is exactly what […]

Below is reprinted an article from FAIR, or Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. It can also be found at: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3596 I offer it here as an example of the distorted media coverage in the US. It is rather long and very US-centric, but presents the situation quite clearly. Perhaps readers can point out more balanced […]

Posted for, and written by Ivan Simic On August 8, 2008, South Ossetia attracted world’s attention when Russian military forces entered Georgian territory, and seriously interfered in the Georgian-South Ossetian unresolved conflict. This conflict is well known to the world, yet, current Russian military intervention helped amplify the dispute. South Ossetia is a small region […]

Maybe he’s smarter than Congress. According to Reuters: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure. The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, […]